Mugabe says #ThisFlag Evan Mawarire should get out of Zimbabwe

President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday attacked the pastor who organized a nationwide strike against the government, saying he should move to another country if he’s unhappy with conditions at home.

It was the first time Mugabe had mentioned #ThisFlag campaigner Evan Mawarire publicly by name.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe,centre,is seen during the burial of Charles Utete, the former British Colony First chief secretary to the Cabinet in Harare, Tuesday, July 19, 2016. Zimbabwe’s president on Tuesday attacked the pastor who organized a nationwide strike against the government, saying he should move to another country if he’s unhappy with conditions at home. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

Mawarire last week was briefly arrested and charged with subverting a constitutionally elected government before being freed by a court in the capital, Harare. Hundreds of cheering supporters greeted his release.

His calls on social media for a boycott earlier this month drew a strong response from people frustrated by Zimbabwe’s deepening economic problems. Mugabe accused the 39-year-old of inciting violence, and he questioned Mawarire’s religious credentials.

“So beware these men of cloth, not all of them are true preachers of the Bible. I don’t know whether they are serving God. They spell God in reverse,” the president said.

Mugabe was speaking at the burial of the former British colony’s first black chief secretary to the Cabinet and president.

The 92-year-old president has accused Western countries of sponsoring the recent anti-government protests. He urged Mawarire and his followers to relocate to one of them.

“The Mawarires and those who believe in that way of living in our country, well, they are not part of us in thinking. They are not part of us as we try to live together,” Mugabe said, to applause from supporters. “If they don’t like to live with us, let them go to those who are sponsoring them, to the countries of those who are sponsoring them, fine.”

Mawarire left the country last week but has denied reports he fled to seek asylum elsewhere.AP